How Should We Teach Mathematics Related to Islam and The Middle East? A New Perspective

초록

The entire question of the transmission of mathematical knowledge from one culture to another is a matter of current research and debate. As a social product, mathematics is often thought to have originated and developed in the Middle East, ancient Greece, China, and India, although it is often exceedingly difficult to know its roots. However, modern society considers that ancient Greek mathematics was not propagated (diffusionist) but developed spontaneously within ancient Greece (isolationist). K. Jaspers describes this as the “Axis Age.” In this paper, I explored the roots of mathematics related to the Middle East and how it should be taught to Korean students in modern society. Since the mathematics classes at the Gifted and Talented Center can deal with contents that are out of the framework of existing textbooks, I can introduce mathematics related to the Middle East very objectively and reflect it in my classes. European mathematics education, for example the International Baccalaureate, describes it as “open-mined” on learner profile (IB 2019, 1): We critically appreciate our own cultures and personal histories as well as the values and traditionals of others. We seek and evaluate a range of points of view, and we are willing to grow from the experience. In fact, in schooling, the above tone is used to exclude the mathematical influences of the ancient Middle East (ancient Egypt and Old Babylonia) on ancient Greece, or to shy away from Islamic mathematics.